2023-12-29 23:28:00
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The start of a new year can bring many changes; one new law is pushing for counties and municipalities to file financial audits on time.
Senate Bill 299 will be going into effect on Jan. 1. North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell says it was made to help make sure audits are done on time.
“This is a law that we wish we did not have to write. It’s a law that we hope that we never have to enforce. But unfortunately, as the state treasurer, the keeper of the public purse, and the chair of the local government commission, we’re finding more and more cities, counties and water and sewer districts who are getting behind on their audits,” said Folwell.
He says this law will help cities and towns keep better track of their money. The law will also allow tax payers to have a better idea about where their money is being spent.
Folwell says when audits are not done, it can be harmful to small communities.
“What this law does is it gives the local government commission the ability to take some of the sales tax revenue, and actually get an audit done. This is particularly harmful to low and fixed income people.”
According the bill, up to 150 percent of the cost audit can be withheld. Counties and municipalities will be warned before any action is taken. Governor Roy Cooper vetoed this bill, saying it will punish people in the state’s smallest communities who rely on that tax revenue, but the Republican-led General Assembly overrode that veto.
“We now have a case that was just announced and Chocowinity, North Carolina, where somebody has been indicted for embezzling over $500,000 of taxpayer money from that little community. The exact same thing happened in Spring Lake. And the fact is that if an audit had been timely done, the auditors would have caught this fraud and embezzlement long before it ended up in an indictment,” said Folwell.
He says he hopes the state won’t have to resort to using the new law, but it now exists just in case.
Several other new laws will also take effect on Jan. 1, and you can learn more about those here.
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